Can I Get Some Dim Sum?

One of my most beloved eating experiences, going all the way back to those earliest flashbacks to dining out with my family in the developing, crack-in-the-wall Chinese restaurants when I was little is called Dim Sum. Dim Sum is a style of food both in its preparation and serving and is nurtured by the family-oriented idea of small plates with small bites meant to be shared—plates and steamer baskets of probably the most delicious morsels of happiness one could imagine for quick, quality, and carnivorous Chinese cuisine. I actually just went to Dim Sum on Sunday because it was my aunt's first and practically fixed idea of a thing to do when she wants us all to eat together as a family. Here's what I know about Dim Sum at one of the most popular restaurants that serve this style of food and the most favored by my family:
- you cannot arrive later than 9:30am unless you would like to sit on a 1+ hour waitlist.
- you must be especially receptive to hearing your listed name because the host who has been there every time I have gone for at least the past 10 years will shout it twice from the cash register area and then move on.
- you have to be cool with being crowded and shuffling through a tight space because everyone wants to be ready when their name is called.
- at least you get to look at their live seafood on display in their gross tanks at the front of the restaurant.
- you have to be vigilant of not getting run over by the cart ladies who are speedily carting hot food throughout the entire seating area.
- also be vigilant of the miserable-looking 18-22 year old guys who are shyly serving food traditionally on a tray.
- you sit down and if there are servers flocking by you, you will get mildly harassed to pick their dishes.
- you get a little slip that has little boxes the servers can check off, and there are different boxes for varying speciality of the food which means varying prices.
- need actual silverware? more chili sauce? tea?—they have standby servers for that.
- basically, it's a madhouse.

When I had Dim Sum this past weekend, I acted as I normally would. Mostly because I forgot that we had this assignment, but also because there were pressures of what I now realize is a hybrid at hand. Everything was so rehearsed in the environment of that particular restaurant and style of eating that I didn't stop to think twice about really anything. But what I'm curious to question now is what it must be like for, say, a white person who is completely new to the experience. Having been there steadily for years on end, I've gradually seen more and more white people coming in. From the looks of it, they are mostly either married to an Asian or are meeting up with his/her Asian colleagues for a refreshing new take on a reunion meal.

Considering this dynamic, it becomes clearer to me that there are unavoidable, ever present cultural factors at hand that shape the dining experience and impression differently for anyone and everyone who goes through it. I never fully realized it, but I watched a lot of the white people at the restaurant, especially the ones who clearly were trying to get a grip on the intensity of the atmosphere. Looks of panic when servers fly by with their carts and trays of food and even more looks of panic when the servers try interesting them in what can either look impressively elegant or completely out-worldly like the intimidating chicken feet or tofu skin that looks like a soggy cheesecloth.

There are language barriers (or maybe not as one might expect) at hand as well. One time I listened to this esteemed, older woman speaking down and annoyingly slow in dumbed-down English to the experienced server that I've seen working for at least 7 years there. To the esteemed woman's surprise, the server patiently waited to speak and then shot back a perfectly clear string of English so as to answer the woman's question. Something like this isn't always the case because sometimes there are strong accents at play.

It's incredibly interesting just to actually pause and think back to how I've observed other people over the past X amount of years in how they conduct themselves in what they see fitting and meaningful to their particular Dim Sum experience—whether it be a regular Dim Summer or a newbie.